Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.life From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Cuban TV: Dim view for audience Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 14:23:38 EST Message-ID: \SE E;LIFE \SS (WS) \HD Cuban TV: Dim view for audience \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT HAVANA HAVANA - Cuban residents gather around the TV set every weeknight for the beginning of the day's state-controlled programming. But it's not a favorite Spanish-language soap opera or the evening news they're anxious to see. They want to know when the government is going to turn off their lights. At 6 p.m. every weekday, after the playing of the Cuban national anthem, a woman's voice comes on the air to announce the schedule for government-ordered brownouts designed to conserve the country's dwindling petroleum supply. Daily brownouts of three to four hours - except on Sunday - are commonplace in Havana neighborhoods these days. Afterward, a government official may come on to announce changes in the week's gasoline rationing schedule or in the availabilty of meat in government food stores. This is prime time in Havana. Unlike their Yanqui neighbors to the west, Cubans receive just two television stations, Cubavision and Tele Rebelde, both tightly controlled by the government. Programming is extremely limited, especially now as the country suffers its worst economic crisis since the triumph of the revolution 33 years ago. Because of efforts to conserve petroleum, TV programming that last year began in the early mornings now starts in the evening during the week and around noon on weekends. Like the brownout and rationing announcements, the government is using television more than before to get important information to its citizens. On the "Hoy Mismo (Today)" news program, for example, a young man tells viewers how to kill cockroaches using a mixture of boric acid and sugar. This may sound absurd to someone who doesn't know that bug spray cannot be purchased in Cuba. Luxury items such as roach traps and flea bombs never reach these Caribbean shores because of the country's limited trade. Likewise, it may seem strange to the foreign viewer that the woman on the government-run cooking show is demonstrating only dishes that use potatoes as the primary ingredient. But talk to a couple of Cubans and you'll discover that while it is hard to find meat and chicken in the government stores these days, there is an overabundance of potatoes. Like other TV viewers around the world, Cubans get a daily dose of news, weather and sports. But news and sports reporting tends to be parochial. The big sports story one particular Thursday night last month was a basketball game between two amateur teams in the Cuban city of Pinar del Rio. The three biggest news stories: efforts by the U.S. Congress to tighten the 30-year trade embargo against Cuba, the 25th anniversary of the death of revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and the Angolan presidential elections. News about the United States is decidedly negative, focusing on such things as crack babies in New York or the abuses of apartment owners in Chicago. Stories about other Latin American countries also generally are negative, emphasizing poverty and governmental corruption. But it's not all propaganda. Cubans get some entertainment programming. For the kids, there are a few cartoons. Grown-ups have their choice of two serial soap operas - the Cuban-made "El naranajo del patio (The Orange Tree on the Patio)" and the Brazilian "Vale Todo (Worth Everything)," dubbed into Spanish from the original Portuguese. There is also the occasional (usually American-made) movie or music special. That particular Thursday night, music videos by Lionel Richie and Eric Clapton were being shown. There are advantages to this type of programming. There is no gratuitous sex and violence. There are no advertisements, with the exception of government hype ("Cuba: We Are Happy Here!"). Besides, anyone who is clever - or lucky - enough can expand his programming horizons. A homemade channel unscrambler that can capture the government-run tourist station shown at the better hotels can be purchased on the black market for a couple hundred dollars. The tourist channel shows American movies and footage of Cuban vacation spots such as Varadero Beach. There's also another way to get extra channels. At the right time of the year, under the right weather conditions, some Cubans claim they can tune in programming from - where else? - Miami. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM